BAU Pharmacy Students’ Perception on their Online Learning Experience: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: The COVID-19 pandemic imposed dramatic changes on educational practices worldwide. Many universities and schools have moved into the delivery of their courses and educational programs utilizing fully electronic online modes. This study aims to evaluate the pharmacy students' online learning experience during the COVID-19 pandemic in the faculty of pharmacy at Beirut Arab University (BAU) to guide the pharmacy curriculum development.

Methods: A cross-sectional survey was developed and distributed to students at the end of the spring semester of 2022.  The survey was anonymous and participation was voluntary.  The survey consists of 31 questions and each is a 5-point Likert scale. The answers made up a score that reflects the student’s online learning experience in 5 main domains. The data were collected and recorded via google forms. Then the retrieved data was analyzed using SPSS version 25.

Results: The response rate was 80% (n = 375). About two third of the respondents were female students (n=262). The majority of pharmacy students preferred on-campus learning (72.53%) whilst online learning negatively affected their interaction with instructors and colleagues (64.80%).  Moreover, most of the students reported that online exams were more stressful and less fair than on-campus exams   (60.27% and 56.26% respectively). The majority of students reported the effectiveness and the high quality of the online learning system in BAU (64% and 65.86% respectively). Online learning was positively reported by students for improving their research application skills (72.80%), and accessibility for those residing in rural areas (50.14%).  ANOVA test followed by post hoc analysis showed a significant difference in Moodle and Microsoft Teams use as educational platforms as well as online exam fairness among the various levels of pharmacy students.

Conclusion: The online learning experience presented opportunities and posed challenges during the COVID pandemic. Carefully desinged curriculum adopting blended learning can better respond to students’ needs and concerns while ensuring their full engagement.